Kaylin Irvine posts best World Cup finish in 1000m at Astana, Kazakhstan Calgarian finishes 12th on final day of season’s third event

Astana, Kazakstan, Dec. 1, 2013 – Kaylin Irvine of Calgary posted her best 1000m World Cup result on Sunday, skating to a 12th place showing on the final day of the Essent ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Astana.

The 23-year-old, who is in her second full season on the World Cup circuit, had a one minute, 17.01 second finish in the A group race. She was 16th in her two previous A 1000m races, which both took place in March of this year. Irvine was the only Canadian entered in an A race on Sunday.

William Dutton of Humboldt, Sask., was third in the men’s B 500m, with Tyler Derraugh of Winnipeg placing seventh. In men’s B 10000m, Jordan Belchos of Toronto was eighth, Mathieu Giroux of Pointe-aux-Trembles, Que., 16th and Alec Janssens of Chilliwack, B.C., 20th.

Meanwhile, Brittany Schussler of Winnipeg made her 170th World Cup start count on Saturday with a bronze in the 1500m. Schussler is the third Canadian women to skate in 170 World Cup races according to speedskatingstats.com. Catriona Le May Doan is eighth on the overall list with 224, folllowed by Shannon Rempel, who is still active, 10th with 218.

The Canadian team will now get ready for the fourth World Cup event of the season, Dec. 6-8 in Berlin, Germany.

Following that will be the Canadian Olympic trials at Calgary’s Olympic Oval Dec. 28-Jan. 3.